2023 Elections: Nigerian Lawyer advocates restructuring of Media profession

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Professor Lateef Fagbemi has called for restructuring of Journalism ahead of the 2023 elections.

Fagbemi said Journalists are regarded as watchdogs, hence their role in the electioneering process cannot be underestimated and there is need to call attention to what journalists should be doing for setting the agenda for 2023.

He stated this at the 2022 Annual Press week celebration of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Kwara State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ilorin, the state capital.

”We also need to leverage on technology because as Journalists, you are working well but other users of social media platforms are bastardizing the ethics of the profession,” Professor Fagbemi stated.

He also said that it was also important that journalists separate themselves from primordial sentiments beclouding the country like ethnicity and religion.

”Journalists also need to strive to maintain impartiality, independence, and balance,” Professor Fagbemi said.

Democracy
Delivering a lecture, titled, Re-engaging the Media for Credible Democracy at the  event,  a former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said; ”the quality of journalism in Nigeria is a reflection of the nation’s democracy.”

According to him,  journalism should be able to deepen the nation’s democracy.

Abdullahi said; “Journalists should be able to play constitutional roles as enshrined in the nation’s Constitution. That is, media professionals should be able to hold government accountable for adequate provision of education, job opportunity, security, corrupt practices, and abuse of power.”

He also explained that the constitutional rights of journalists are not sufficient to play expected roles in deepening the nation’s democracy, stressing that journalists can act in exercising their rights.

The Chairman of the Correspondent’s chapel, Akeem Garba commended members’ turnout at the event, urging them to be good ambassadors of the journalism profession.

Garba urged Journalists to preserve and sustain Nigeria’s democracy by carrying out their duties effectively and avoid being biased while discharging their official duties.

Mercy Chukwudiebere